Cooking with Kids: Eggs in a Basket

Cooking with kids is one of those things that can be incredibly rewarding and frustrating at the same time. Food does not get made as quickly and there are definitely more messes to clean up. But, your children want to help you. It’s good for them to get their hands on the food they eat; to learn about how food is made, the ingredients, and kitchen safety. Plus, it’s really fun. My kids love to get their hands on what I’m making and “help” me.

Sometimes, helping may mean I give them a little bit of vegetables and a butter knife to practice cutting. It may mean I give them their own bowl and spoon with flour to mix. Other times, I let them get right in their with me and actually help prepare whatever it is I am making at that moment.

They key is to allow them to help you when you are already having a good day. You don’t want to try this when your day is bumpy. It will end in tears, or at the least, a very frustrated teacher (you). Invite your children into the kitchen on a good day. When you are full of patience and everyone is (mostly) smiles. Then, remind yourself that it’s going to take a little longer to get dinner on the table and there may be a spill or two. Don’t forget to also invite your children to help clean up the spills. You would be surprised how eager they may be to help clean up, too.

Today, we are going to make eggs in a basket. This is a very simple breakfast dish we make at least a couple of times per week. If you ask my son what he wants for breakfast, a lot of the time, he will request this dish. He loves that he can help me and knows how it’s made from start to finish.

Cooking with Kids: Eggs in a Basket

To start this dish, I recommend setting out all of your ingredients before inviting your kids into the kitchen. You will need: cookie cutters, bread, eggs, and butter. To cook the eggs in a basket, you will need either a griddle pan or a frying pan. Once you have everything ready, invite your kids into the kitchen and wash hands. Set up a safe area for them to access the food (we use step stools).

Start with the bread and cookie cutter. The only requirement for the cookie cutter is that it fit nicely inside the slice of bread. Have your children press the cookie cutter into the slice of bread until the cookie shape comes out cleanly from the slice of bread. They may need to wiggle it a bit – it does not have to be perfect. Continue to do this with the rest of the slices of bread.

Next, heat your pan over medium heat and melt the butter. You can invite your child to cut the butter with a butter knife and help them slide it into the pan.

Now, place your bread and cutouts into the pan. This is something else you can invite your children to help with (use your best judgement) – explaining the heat of the pan and stove.

Then, crack your eggs into the middle of the bread (where the cutout was removed). One egg per slice of bread. If you are up for it, ask your child to help you. You may want to set up a separate bowl for them to practice breaking the egg into and then pouring the cracked egg into the bread. These are all things you can do with your child! If you aren’t up to having them try, just explain what you are doing and let them watch. They learn a lot through observation.

Once the whites of the eggs begin to solidify, flip your bread (with egg inside) and cook on the other side. You will want to flip the cutouts, too. Have your child hold the spatula with you so they can get a feel for how you flip the egg and bread.

Allow the eggs to finish cooking and remove them from the pan (again, letting your child hold onto the spatula with you).

Just to recap, here are some ways your child can help you make eggs in a basket:

Make bread cutouts with a cookie cutter

Cut butter and drop butter into the pan

Gently place bread into the heated pan

Crack eggs

Flip bread/eggs

Taste test

My children are ages 1 and 3. As you can see from the picture, my 1-year-old is right there with us making this dish. If your children are older, you may be able to teach them how to make eggs in a basket and let them do it on their own. Trust your judgement and trust your children. They want to help you and the time to start teaching them is now!

[…] always do), then we have breakfast for dinner. It’s quick, easy, and my kids are happy to eat eggs or pancakes at any time of day. We also designate 1 day every other week for take out or eating […]

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About

Hi, I'm Aileen. I'm married to the love of my life and mom to three busy kids. My mission is to help busy moms cook good food and enjoy their families. I invite you to check out my long list of recipes, fun projects (for kids and moms), and honest posts about motherhood.